Crystal meth ‘taking over’ in New Brunswick and detox services can’t keep up

Use of crystal meth, available on the street for as little as $ 5 a hit, is on the rise in the province and those who work on the front lines of addiction say it’s magnifying a lack of detox and rehab services.

“It’s a health crisis,” said Debby Warren, executive director of Ensemble, formerly known as AIDS Moncton.

Warren blames the stigma surrounding addiction for a public health calamity going unchecked.

“I don’t know any health situation where people have to go and prostitute themselves or steal to get their medication,” she said.

“We need decision-makers to step up and look at this situation and what it’s doing to our community.”

A survey last fall by the New Brunswick Community Alliance, which includes AIDS Moncton, AIDS Saint John and AIDS New Brunswick, suggests crystal methamphetamine is gaining popularity across the province.

Interviews were done with 72 people who use the needle exchange programs in Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Miramichi.

Aggression, psychotic behaviour

Warren said crystal meth is “really quite scary” for the people who use and for the people around them.

People are injecting, snorting and smoking the powerful stimulant, and Warren and her staff regularly see those under its influence.

While it makes people feel euphoric, crystal meth also has a violent comedown that includes aggression, paranoia and hallucinations.

Debby Warren, executive director of Ensemble, is calling on decision-makers to improve detox and drug rehabilitation programs. She said the rise in the use of crystal meth is only magnifying the lack of treatment in New Brunswick. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC)

“We’ve had them tell us that they’re fearful for their lives, that there’s someone coming after them,” Warren said. “They hear sounds, they see things, they’re looking at people and they say that they have glowing eyes. Really psychotic.”

Crystal meth also leaves people unable to sleep. Warren has seen people up for as long as four days straight.

“They get sores because they think they’ve got bugs. So they’re picking at their skin and they’re getting infections on their skin, pulling on their hair, clawing at their faces.”

Cal Maskery, executive director of Harvest House Atlantic, said the majority of people he sees at his shelter are struggling with some kind of addiction. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC)

Cal Maskery also works on the front lines of addiction as executive director of Harvest House Atlantic, which offers an emergency shelter and a long-term, faith-based recovery program.

Maskery said he knew crystal meth was coming but had no idea “how bad it really was.”

“You can see the changes in people because they’re aggressive … never the aggression have we seen.”

‘You should see what it does to people’

Maskery said the appeal of crystal meth is that it costs just $ 5 to $ 10 per day.

“The two things I’ve heard about it is it’s the cheapest drug out there, but it’s the longest lasting. It can last for up to six to eight hours.”

In the survey by the New Brunswick Community Alliance, one respondent warned, “authorities need to get on top of the crystal meth thing or there’s going to be big problems.”

That person added: “You should see what it does to people. Once someone is on it for six months, they don’t give a damn about anything.”

A survey completed in the fall of 2018 presents a ‘moment-in-time portrait’ of people who use drugs in New Brunswick and shows a sharp increase in crystal meth. (Vanessa Blanch/CBC)

In Miramichi, eight of 12 people in the survey mentioned the influx of crystal meth as the biggest change they had seen.

In Moncton, it was 11 of 20, while in Fredericton it was 15 of 20. In Saint John 13 of 20 respondents said people were moving from smoking crack cocaine to injecting cocaine.

The survey didn’t provide an estimate of the number of people who are using crystal meth but was meant as a “moment in time portrait of people who use drugs in New Brunswick.”

Among the other comments of needle-exchange users:

“More and more young people on crystal meth, injecting. It’s the worst drug right now.”

“People don’t know what they’re getting with crystal meth. Ninety-five per cent of people who try it once are hooked.”

“Crystal meth is taking over the city big time.”

The number of syringes distributed by needle exchange programs in Saint John and Fredericton more than doubled between 2012 and 2017. In Moncton and Miramichi, it more than tripled. (CBC)

CBC News contacted the New Brunswick RCMP but no one has been available to comment on the rise of crystal meth.

In January, RCMP reported an increase in crystal meth around the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border.

Treatment options limited

Warren said the survey findings have been sent to the province to show the need to improve treatment options, especially long-term programs, for people addicted to crystal meth and other drugs.

Bernard Goguen, a consultant with the Department of Health’s addiction and mental health branch, said a short stay in a detoxification centre is the starting point. A stay can last between two and 10 days.

“It really is just to help the person go through the worst of the worst of the withdrawal management and also to provide some information and planning on what are some of the next steps in terms of the person’s treatment and recovery journey,” Goguen said.

RCMP reported a rise in crystal meth around the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border in January. A hit costs between $ 5 and $ 10, and users say the high can last six to eight hours, the buzz for two days. (David Burke/CBC)

“These are places they can go and receive a more comprehensive psychological, psycho-social treatment that focuses on skill-building, developing coping skills … possibly help them with trauma as well.”

Goguen said changes were made in September 2018 to the Campbellton program in an effort to offer mental health treatment at the same time, tailored to each individual.

“People with substance abuse issues quite often have mental health issues as well,” Goguen said. “So the program in Campbellton is now a more individualized service, and stays range from 30 to 90 days.”

Goguen said it is much different from the old program, where everyone started their treatment on the same day and received the same services.

Bernard Goguen, third from left, at the announcement of the new Campbellton treatment centre that offers individual treatment programs ranging from 30 to 90 days for people with addiction and mental health issues. Also pictured are Gino Mallais, Gaëtane Hachey and Rino Lang of Addiction Services. (Vitalité Health Network)

In addition to the 24 long-term beds, Lonewater Farm, a rehab centre near Grand Bay-Westfield, offers 30 beds for men who want a supportive environment for another three months.

‘Something is really wrong in our society’

Goguen said demand for the 24 beds “has been really high.”

When asked if the province is considering adding more beds, he said it’s a “long process” to look at changes, and there is “lots of competition for resources.”

People are reluctant to come in for services. They fear judgment, they fear scorn, they fear rejection.– Bernard Goguen , Department of Health

To Warren, it is clear that more resources need to be directed to long-term addictions and mental health treatment.

In a recent survey, 56 of 72 respondents in Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Miramichi said they use illicit drugs three or more times a day. Sixty of the 72 respondents said they have injected drugs with a needle. (David Ryder/Reuters)

With few options offered by government, Maskery and other faith-based groups in the Maritimes are trying to fill the gap with programs of their own.

In his experience, it takes at least nine months for people to get to the “inner issues or trauma” that are almost always at the root of their addiction.

The extent of drug use, he said, “tells us that something is really wrong in our society.”

Stigma of addiction strong

Goguen and Warren both believe the stigma of addiction is keeping people from asking for help.

“People are reluctant to come in for services,” Goguen said. “They fear judgment, they fear scorn, they fear rejection.”

Nobody chooses this. It’s not a way of life that they choose, and so we need to have services in place.– Debby Warren, Ensemble

Warren said the stigma that surrounds addiction also keeps people from talking about it, and that allows decision makers to ignore the issue.

She has seen many people in desperate need of medical attention avoid the hospital.

“Because one time the nurse looked at her and said, ‘Well maybe next time you’ll think twice before you stick a needle in your arm.'”

She remembers an intravenous drug user who put off going to the emergency room despite a serious infection.

When he arrived at the hospital, the nurse who met him illustrated the impact good health care can have, Warren said.

The nurse said, “‘Hmm, do you inject?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And that’s hard to admit because people are going to judge.”

A survey by the New Brunswick Community Alliance recently asked “What is the biggest change you have seen in the drug scene in your city?” The overwhelming response was the increased use of crystal meth. The CBC’s Vanessa Blanch has been looking into the impact of the drug. 10:31

Warren said the nurse then asked to see what kind of shape his veins were in.

“But she also said to him, ‘So what we’re going to do is we’re going to look at your veins and you’re going to save one for me. So if you ever come here and I need to save your life, I have a vein that’s open and ready to receive what I need to do with it.'”

“She validated his life,” Warren said. “Nobody chooses this — it’s not a way of life that they choose, and so we need to have services in place.”

On Wednesday, in part two of CBC New Brunswick’s coverage of the rise of crystal meth, the story of a recovering meth addict who is healing after completing a nine-month rehabilitation program.